Dangai Precipice World (Seireitou
The Dangai Precipice World (断界絶壁の世界, literally "Precipice of the Parsing World) is the infinitely-expanding multidimensional space that operates on a principle known as interpenetrating dimensions. It is best likened to that of a omniverse, being an isolated space which connects any and all dimensional plains. It was supposedly created by a Xìnrénlèi known as the Taikyōkū and exists apart from spacetime. Overview In layman's terms, the Dangai is the ever-expanding center for all existing dimensions. At every possible point in the Dangai's multilayered proverbial coordinate system, there exists a nexus point at which two or more dimensions can form a pathway. The most common pathway employed by Shinigami is the one that travels directly from the Soul Society to the Human World. While there exists natural-formed pathways, it is theoretically possible to form a new pathway through the use of a spacetime rift. Hollow use a technique that accomplishes such a feat, forming a portal that is known as a Garganta. Kisuke Urahara accomplished a similar feat by the use of a self-made Kidō named Keikaigi (繫界儀, "World-Tying Rite"). By using such techniques, the user can manipulate the spacial layers of the Dangai to form discernable passageways in order to transverse the Dangai and cross into another dimension. Ideally, these techniques create a turbulance of reishi through two spacetime points, the point at which the user is currently at and the place the user wishes to go to respectively, and by solidifying a pathway through this turbulance, the user may cross over. In the natural Dangai space, there are an infinite amount of these nexus point pathways and each of these points connect two or more dimensions. These multiple dimensions are vastly unique and different, ranging from a composition of reishi, atoms, reason, and potentially many other obscure substances. The Reikai is an example of a dimension consisting of a reishi composition. While all meeting at different nexus points, these pathways are all connected within the infinite Dangai space, and as such, by using a manipulated version of a rift creation technique, one can possibly "crush through" walls to form a temporary pathway between two parallel pathways, allowing the user of this aforementioned technique to enter any of the existing dimenions. Essentially, the Dangai is surrounded by numerous stacked-up layers of time's current, resulting in it being a place where the density of time within it is extremely high when compared to other exterior dimensions. To be precise it is over 2,000 times denser, meaning that when one hour passes in outside worlds, an equivalent of 2,000 hours pass inside the Dangai. The Kōtotsu exists to stop anyone from lingering in the Dangai and possibly exploiting this time distortion. The Dangai was originally both a penal colony and a passage to the Human World. The Kōryū and the Kōtotsu are remnants of its time as a penal colony, they also act as means of defense against unwanted intruders. While the Dangai can be used to journey to and from Soul Society, Shinigami who have Jigokuchō do not use the Dangai to travel between Soul Society and the Living World. It is only used for that purpose by individuals who do not have a Jigokuchō. Indeed, even if these individuals pass through the Senkaimon with a Shinigami, they will be expunged into the Dangai due to their lack of Jigokuchō. Reasons for this are unknown. It is known that there exists small "pocket" dimensions within the Dangai spacetime, which are not connected to any other dimensions through nexus points, such as Susuki Castle and Nakayo. Notable Dimensions & Pathways Intersecting Dimensions Note: The symbol, "⇌", denotes the pathway between the two respective dimensions as well as displaying the chain of intersections. * Hell ⇌ World of the Mortals ⇌ Reikai Pocket Dimensions * Hueco Mundo * Susuki Castle * Nakayo Inhabitants Taikyōkū The Taikyōkū (嘯風, Taikyoukuu; literally "supreme ultimate"), unknown if he possesses a real name or not, is the self-proclaimed creator and absolute ruler of the Dangai. Kōryū Kōryū (拘流, Wresting Flow) is one of the two detachments formed by the Taikyōkū. It is the current that is constantly flowing through the Dangai, in order to prevent enemies such as Hollows from using it. The current stops souls from moving, and even one foot caught by it makes escape almost impossible. It encompasses the walls, capturing anyone who makes contact with them. Attempting to traverse the Dangai, Uryū Ishida and Ichigo Kurosaki (attempting to save Uryū using his Zangetsu) were almost captured by the current. Luckily only his cape was caught, and Chad was able to break him free. Upon their escape to Soul Society, Orihime Inoue used her Santen Kesshun to block the Kōtotsu, composed of the Kōryū, and escape, but Yoruichi Shihōin berated her for this action; while the Kōryū only touched the shield area of her ability, had any one of Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka been touched by the current, the entire group would have been killed. If a Shinigami's Zanpakutō is used or revealed, they are also trapped by the current. When circumstances deem it necessary, the Kōryū can be stopped using a method referred to as Kaikyō Kotei (界境固定, Realm Boundary Fixation). Normally, lower-echelon Shinigami enter the dimension in great numbers and using a special method, pour in their reiatsu to fixate the current. However, individuals in possession of significant quantities of reiatsu can themselves suppress the current for extended periods of time but only after the insertion of four small forked blades into various locations along the Dangai's wall and as long as the user remains connected to these items for the duration. Isshin Kurosaki states that someone with his level of reiatsu can maintain this state for no longer than 2000 hours, according to the time frame within the confines of the Dangai. Extensive research into the physiology of the Dangai can allow an individual to gain space/time manipulation abilities, as represented by , the 7th Seat of the 12th Division. Kōtotsu The Kōtotsu (拘突, Wresting-Surge) is the second of the detachments created by the Taikyōkū. Essentially, it is the Dangai equivalent to a street sweeper. The Kōtotsu appears once every seven days to cleanse the area - killing anyone and everything that makes contact with it - to assure that no one can loiter and take advantage of the time distortion. It looks like the same material making up the Precipice World, only moulded into the shape of a bullet train, and a golden eye at the upper-center of its body. If the Kōtotsu touches a Zanpakutō or other spiritual weapon, the user and weapon are trapped, since the Kōtotsu's body is flowing with the Kōryū current. Soul Society has no means of sealing the Kōtotsu. If a being is caught by the Kōtotsu, they'll be thrown out to a greatly different point in time from when they entered the Precipice World. Shinigami are not supposed to be able to harm the Kōtotsu but Shūsuke Amagai using his Bakkōtō and Sōsuke Aizen in his Hōgyoku fused form have been able to destroy it. Being chased by the Kōtotsu has shown to lead to time distortion. Ichigo trained for 10 days in the living world, waited 7 days for the Senkaimon, and spent 5 days total afterward, before his 3-Day Bankai training. Logically speaking, this is a total of 25 days, which is exactly (at the time) one day before Rukia's execution after Ichigo's training is complete. However, as luck would have it after being chased by the Kōtotsu, Yoruichi and the Ryoka entered a twisted time-space tunnel when they escaped the Dangai, making their actual arrival to Soul Society about 7 days earlier. This is stated by Yoruichi in her thoughts on the first day of training, so this left a total of 2 days training left, and 8 days following the training that could possibly be used as an extension. It is later determined that the reason for this particular time distortion was due to Urahara's technology, which made the penalty only end up being a few days. Normally a victim would have been blown away in increments of 100 years and die, as their body would not have been able to keep up with the rapid flow of time. In addition, when Aizen destroyed the Kōtotsu, Gin Ichimaru commented that led to the axis slipping and resulted in them arriving in Soul Society a little further off from Karakura Town. Behind the Scenes